Gold
Silver
Copper
Blue
Purple
Red
Flax
Goat hair
Ram skins dyed red
Tachash skins
Shittim wood
Oil for lighting
Spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense
Shoham stones
Gemstones for settings
15 items listed above are mentioned in the Torah (Perek 25, 3-7). Yet Rashi mentions 13 items were donated. How to explain the difference?
1) Mizrachi – 3 woolen items were considered as one (purple, red, and blue). They were given different names due to the colors with which they were dyed. But they were all wool and the color is not significant point of distinction.
2) Maharal – Gifts brought by the Nessiim were not counted. He counts the three types of wool separately since each color has importance (see Lekutei Sichos chelek 31). Since the Shoham stones and the Gemstones for the settings were only brought by the Nessiim, the count of 13 refers to those items donated by all the Jews.
3) Maskil LeDavid – The conjunctive “and” demarcates the 13 gifts. The first 11 items are connected together by 10 “and”; then the oil and species do not have a conjunctive with the prior list or with each other. Then the last two items do have the word “and” to also connect to the prior 11. The Targum Yonosan ben Uziel syas the Clouds went to Gan Eden and brought numerous items for the Mishkan including the oil for illumination and the spices needed for mixing into the anointing oil. Thus, the words “viyikchu li Terumah” refers to the 13 items brought by the Jews; the words “tikcu es teumasi” means that you shall take My (HaShem’s) donation “asher tikchu meitom” is besides the 2 items which HaShem will send.
4) Ta”z – Miracles do not count. The skins of the Tachash and the wood used were exceptional. HaShem created these two items just for use in the Mishkan. Even though they were brought as donations, they are not counted since they had no other purpose.
